‘Abducted’ Gazan on Hamas charges

Dirar Abu Sisi denies any connection to Hamas

A Palestinian man from Gaza who says he was abducted by the Israeli secret service, Mossad, is expected to appear in court in Israel.

Dirar Abu Sisi says he was abducted in Ukraine while applying for citizenship there.

Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu has said Mr Abu Sisi is “a Hamas man” who has provided “valuable information”.

His family and Hamas, the Islamist group that governs Gaza, have both denied any links.

Mr Abu Sisi accuses Israel of “kidnapping him for no reason”.

He also denies any knowledge about a captive Israeli soldier in the Gaza Strip. There has been media speculation that his case is connected to that of Sgt Gilad Shalit, an Israeli soldier captured by Palestinian militants in June 2006 in a raid into Israel.

Mr Abu Sisi, 43, is a manager at Gaza’s main power plant.

He has said he was forcibly removed from a train in Kharkiv, eastern Ukraine, on 19 February and interrogated by Israeli agents.

He said he was handcuffed, hooded and then held in an apartment before being flown to Israel. He said he went a total of 25 days before seeing a lawyer.

His wife – who is Ukrainian – says he had gone to Ukraine to apply for citizenship and move the family there.

Last week, the Palestinian ambassador in Kiev, Mohammed al-Assad, called Israel’s arrest “an international crime that must be punished”.

The Ukrainian government said it was not involved in the operation and was waiting for an official Israeli explanation.

A partial gag order by an Israeli court has prevented the publication of details relating to this case.

This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.